Coordinated Arts Services

Coordinated Arts Services

Coordinated Arts Services. Non-profit organization founded in Toronto in 1968, under the sponsorship of the Canada Council and the OAC, to help arts organizations increase revenues co-operatively and cut costs through a system of shared services. On behalf of its members (which by 1978 included the COC, the National Ballet of Canada, the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, Toronto Arts Productions, and the TS) the organization was responsible for the allocation of subscription seating, the mailing of publicity and other materials, and the maintenance and rental of a mailing list of over 100,000 addresses of subscribers to the member organizations. In 1977 CAS mailed more than two million brochures, flyers, press releases, and newsletters on behalf of its members.

CAS, developed a portable pension plan for the salaried artistic and administrative personnel of member companies, and with financial assistance from the OAC, it provided 1975-9 a trained archivist to advise on the development and maintenance of archives for each of the companies. In addition, CAS Productions administered a common scenery-building and storage facility for the COC and the National Ballet. In 1971 and 1972, as a forerunner to Wintario (Ontario's lottery program), CAS organized two fund-raising lotteries (Lottario I and II); the proceeds of which were divided among participating CAS members.

CAS was self-sustaining by 1973, financed solely by the users of its services. Its board of directors comprised one administrative and one board representative from each of its member organizations. offered associate membership to other non-profit arts organizations, who were entitled to select and use CAS services at the fees stipulated for each. In 1978 there were over fifty such members, including the CCA, the Festival Singers, the Guelph Spring Festival, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Southern Alberta and the Vancouver Opera Associations.

In 1979 CAS installed an automated system for its subscription services, funded by Wintario, the COC and the TS, which operated until November 1981 when both the COC and the TS began their own computerized subscription services. The CAS assets were then distributed and the organization ceased to function, except to maintain its pension plan, which became an independent entity when the CAS charter was cancelled in 1989.